A Finished Quilt Top, Ocean Walks and Cute Cats

Welcome to the weekend, dear friends! It’s time for another update on all the happenings here at Bonjour Quilts. Sit back, relax and enjoy the read.

A Finished Quilt Top

True to Pareto’s Law, the last 20% of this quilt top seemed to take me 80% of the total sewing time. I lost a bit of sewing mojo along the way. But I’m happy to say this twin quilt top is now finished and I’ll have it off to the long armer shortly. The pattern is also done, just minor corrections to update, so it’s great to also have that in the bag.

Flower quilt blocks intended for an Irish Chain quilt, by Bonjour Quilts.

Once the quilting is complete, I’ll bind and photograph it for the cover, and then the pattern will be ready. Yay! It’s been quite a while since my last pattern so it feels good to finally have this at the 95% mark.

Floral Irish Chain quilt top rows ready to be sewn together. Sewn in light and sage green, with pink, mauve and lilac flowers.

Often when I finish making a quilt top I feel like I never want to see the pattern again. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t last long.) But this time I’m already dreaming of a queen sized version for my bed…

A navy blue Irish Chain quilt with white flowers in the boxes. Upcoming pattern by Bonjour Quilts in three sizes: throw, twin and queen.

I love navy blue. I’d love to have a version of this where the Irish Chain takes a back seat and white flowers pop. Maybe white fabric petals with a hint of metallic sparkle? Hmm, much to think about.

Around the Interwebs…

Unloved quilt tops, partially damaged quilts, thrift store quilts – they can all have a new life as quilted jackets or other clothing. (The biker-style jackets in the first link are my fave.)

If you have a sewjo crisis, don’t forget to look after yourself.

A fun way to preserve kids’ artworks.

Some lovely quilt-flavoured coffee mugs. Not quilty, but these handmade mugs are something different and really cute.

Fat Quarter Shop has the super-cute Bee Cross basics on sale for the month of August. I also saw this lovely soft cream new release – a bundle would be perfect for a scrappy, low volume quilt.

Beautiful textures and some great colour palette ideas on this Instagram feed. I love the colour, fun and recycling opportunities in this artist’s work.

Reader Quilts…

I always love to see quilts you’ve made from Bonjour Quilts patterns so please keep sending them in! Either email (Kirsty at BonjourQuilts dotcom), or tag me on Facebook or Instagram.

The Plus Side quilt pattern is a fun pattern to use to experiment with colour, contrast and block orientation. Here’s Prudence’s lovely version which radiates with blues:

The Plus Side quilt pattern is a fun pattern to use to experiment with colour, contrast and block orientation. Here's Prudence's lovely version which radiates with blues

Diamonds in the Deep is (generally) a two-colour quilt, but you can still have fun with your colour choices. Here Gloria has matched a charcoal solid with a low volume light grey print.

Some charcoal and low volume print diamonds - here's the Diamonds in the Deep quilt pattern, as sewn by Gloria. You can find this quilt pattern at Bonjour Quilts.

Louise opted to add a third fabric to her Diamonds in the Deep quilt. She has matched white with a deep forest green, but cleverly made the inner portions of her log cabin blocks with emerald green:

Louise sewed a Diamonds in the Deep quilt with lovely emerald green fabrics. This ombre log cabin block based quilt pattern can be found at Bonjour Quilts.

And here’s Brenda’s gorgeous version of Diamonds in the Deep. She has a used a sweet, small-scale patterned print for her dark fabric and teamed it with a low-volume cross hatched print. Can we all also take a minute to appreciate Brenda’s clever quilt hanging method – several clear trouser hangers. Portable, easy, brilliant!

And here's Brenda's gorgeous version of the Diamonds in the Deep quilt pattern. She has a used a sweet, small-scale patterned print for her dark fabric and teamed it with a low-volume cross hatched print. Can we all also take a minute to appreciate Brenda's clever quilt hanging method - several clear trouser hangers. Portable, easy, brilliant! You can find the Diamonds in the Deep quilt pattern at Bonjour Quilts.

Pamela sewed up her own version of the Rectangle Log Cabin Quilt in purples, mauves and greens. She opted for a large throw size rather than a twin, and she’s added some great borders of her own design. You can find the free tutorial for the Rectangle Log Cabin quilt here.

Pamela sewed up her own version of the Rectangle Log Cabin Quilt in purples, mauves and greens. She opted for a large throw size rather than a twin, and she's added some great borders of her own design. You can find the free tutorial for the Rectangle Log Cabin quilt at Bonjour Quilts' website.

I love a bright and cheery baby quilt. Andrea’s version of the When You Wish…baby quilt fits the bill beautifully. Here’s a free tutorial for the baby quilt, and I also have a paid pattern for larger sizes.

Chez Bonjour

Another full two weeks here at Chez Bonjour. Kids’ stuff, a lovely night out with my parents, and a 20km (12.5 mi) hike along the Sunshine Coast with my husband.

Coolum to Noosa coastal walk

Here are some photos from our mid-week hike from Coolum to Noosa.

Gorgeous azure ocean off the coast of Noosa - walking from Coolum to Noosa along the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Walking in a bush area along the Noosa Coolum coastal walk in Australia, on the Sunshine Coast.

The day of our walk was a perfect winter’s day – blue skies and mild temperatures.

Gorgeous azure ocean off the coast of Noosa - walking from Coolum to Noosa along the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Buckets and sieves to help clear up microplastics from the beaches along the Coolum to Noosa coastal walk in Australia.
Sieves and buckets to help remove microplastics from the beach

Our walk was primarily along a coastal footpath, with lovely ocean views. Due to the blue skies we were blessed with beautifully blue seas.

Gorgeous azure ocean off the coast of Noosa - walking from Coolum to Noosa along the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Gorgeous azure ocean off the coast of Noosa - walking from Coolum to Noosa along the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
On the Noosa Coolum coastal walk on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Blue skies, blue oceans, a perfect winter's day.

We did veer into the suburbs every now and then, where I sticky-beaked at all the front yards. I can’t resist other people’s flowers!

A beautiful frilly hibiscus flower on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
A stunning, flamboyant hibiscus that looks like it belongs at the Moulin Rouge
A very pretty red grevillea with yellow nectar tipped petals. An Australian native seen on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
A blushing grevillea flower with yellow stigmas
Pretty red flowers along the Coolum to Noosa coastal walk. Watch the prickles!
Pretty little red flowers
Pretty red flowers along the Coolum to Noosa coastal walk. Watch the prickles!
But watch out for the prickles!

We finished our walk at Noosa Junction, where we had an Air BnB booked for the night. We had a quick nap, followed by a lovely Italian dinner to replace all the carbohydrates we expended. (Then I added on a few extra with a Tiramisu, yum.)

Noosa National Park Walk

The next day we went for another, much shorter walk to Hastings St in Noosa (the main tourist street). From there we strolled along the Noosa Coastal Boardwalk along the coast up to Noosa National Park.

An overcast day looking at the beaches around Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Milky opal seas and grey skies, but beautiful none the less.

My favourite thing about the Boardwalk is how it’s been designed to incorporate the trees into the structure, with holes in the boards and diverted handrails:

The boardwalk above the trees at Hastings St, Noosa. Love the way the boardwalk has been cut/designed to leave as many trees in tact as possible, including holes in the walkway and curves in the handrails.

The weather was cool and very overcast with a little bit of light rain. Very different to the amazing conditions for our walk the day before. As a result the ocean looked like milky opal rather than sapphire blue.

An overcast day looking at the beaches around Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Milky opal seas and grey skies, but beautiful none the less.
An overcast day looking at the beaches around Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Milky opal seas and grey skies, but beautiful none the less.
An overcast day looking at the beaches around Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Milky opal seas and grey skies, but beautiful none the less.

Once we got to Noosa National Park the scenery changed again.

Great hiking trails in the Noosa National Park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Lovely bush setting and Australian natives.

Gentle reader, I have to report we witnessed several murders in the National Park. Very, very, very slow murders, but murders none the less.

A strangler fig growing over a host tree in the Noosa National Park in Queensland Australia. Eventually the fig will kill the host tree and it will decompose leaving only the stranger fig.

This is an aptly named Strangler Fig, which starts life as a seed dropped into a treetop. Once it takes root in a nook in the tree, it starts to very slowly grow and strangle the tree – it’s actually kind of gruesome to see. Evolution is brutal.

A strangler fig growing over a host tree in the Noosa National Park in Queensland Australia. Eventually the fig will kill the host tree and it will decompose leaving only the stranger fig.
A strangler fig growing over a host tree in the Noosa National Park in Queensland Australia. Eventually the fig will kill the host tree and it will decompose leaving only the stranger fig.
A strangler fig growing over a host tree in the Noosa National Park in Queensland Australia. Eventually the fig will kill the host tree and it will decompose leaving only the stranger fig.

Here’s a quick 3 min video of David Attenborough on the BBC explaining the process. Gosh, how good is David Attenborough, honestly?!

Great hiking trails in the Noosa National Park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Lovely bush setting and Australian natives.

Cats’ Corner…

And last but not least, some photos of our two Burmese cats Tigger (orange) and Lulu (brown) for all the cat lovers out there.

An orange and a brown Burmese cat cuddling.
An orange and a brown Burmese cat cuddling.
A brown Burmese cat sleeping in the sun on a quilt.
An orange Burmese cat sleeping on an Anna Maria Parry fabric quilt.
Cuddling Burmese cats on a grey cat bed. The orange cat's tail is curled around the brown cat's front paw.

Have a good weekend!

Wishing you all a good weekend, hopefully with some time to sew. If not, a good nap and a book will do wonders!

Until next time, take care,

Kirsty x

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14 thoughts on “A Finished Quilt Top, Ocean Walks and Cute Cats”

  1. This post is lovely!! Your hike looks amazing and you earned the tiramisu (one of my favorite desserts)! The new quilt pattern is really pretty Kirsty. Well done. The boardwalk designed to retain the trees is super. What a creative way to build it.

    Reply

  3. LOVE your newsletters, Kirsty. I don’t know how you manage to do it all. I’m at a stop with sewing…shoulder surgery, UHG.

    Reply

  6. Thank you, Kirsty, for taking us along on your hike. It was lovely. I’m not sure which of your talents are the greatest. quilting or photography. I am giving you an A+ for each. And the kitties are always a pleasure.
    Thank you, Carolyn

    Reply

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